Archive for the ‘Product Reviews’ Category
Triumph Dining sent a copy of their Essential Gluten-Free Restaurant Guide, and a set of their Dining Cards, to Gf-Zing! for review. We have tested the book in two states so far, and we have used the cards extensively in American, Thai, Indian and other restaurants and can say that the cards provide an easy way to communicate the gluten-free dietary restriction to restaurant staff. We consider these the restaurant guide and the cards to be true “workhorses” of our gluten-free collection.
The dining cards are useful both with the manager and with the waitstaff. A second less obvious use is that by reading the English translation on the back of each card the diner can find out what the risky items are in each ethnic cuisine, and this proves useful in grocery stores as well. These cards are useful and convenient, and we rely on them heavily. The only difficulties we have had are 1) sometimes the staff will interpret gluten-free to mean ’spice-free’ and we have to assure them that indeed we like spices and flavors, just no wheat, barley or rye and 2) for the Chinese card sometimes the staff cannot read the characters for barley or rye and has difficulty interpreting the card. Our only other wish is that Triumph dining will produce a Korean and a Portuguese or Brazilian Portuguese card!
The Essential Guide to Gluten Free Dining is a very useful book as well. We take it with us when traveling, and we even learned about some new opportunities right in our own back yard. The bright orange cover makes it easy to unearth on the coffee table or in the car. We like this guide, even though we were initially skeptical - we have the internet, right? so, why do we need a book? Well, when you have left your wireless connectivity behind, and you’re on the interstate and hungry, it is just great to be able to leaf through and find tons of restaurants that are not too far away, with phone numbers and menu hints, and sometimes the name of the owner. This book is a welcome addition to our gluten-free library!
We like crunchy bread crumb topping on baked casseroles and fish, and things like that. Even at the many restaurants that are serving gluten free foods now, we find that the crumb toppings are too sandy in texture, and everyone from the gluten free community knows how disappointing the mushy crumb toppings are.
Well, Gf-Zing! recently tried using Glutino brand cinnamon raisin bread, grinding it in to crumbs ourselves in the food processor, and then following a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen for Baked Chicken Breasts with Parmesan-Garlic Crust.
The combination of the Glutino bread (don’t worry about the cinnamon/raisin flavor - it works well) made in to crumbs, parmesan cheese and oil seems to account for the crispiness of the topping. A mixture of 1 part crumbs, 1/2 part finely grated Parmesan cheese, 1/8 part olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and seasonings, applied to the top of chicken which has been spread with gluten free mayonnaise, and then baked at 425 for 20 minutes will give you a chicken with crumb topping that is quite satisfactory. If you don’t have fresh basil, do not use dried basil for this recipe.
Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free.
We tried a new cookbook, it’s not a gluten free cookbook, but it’s really fun, and the recipes are good and easy to convert to gf and there are two Gluten Free Cupcake recipes included in the book. The book is Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. On the back of the cookbook is the header “Prepare for Total Cupcake Domination” which gives a hint that the author has a sense of humor.
For a test, we tried Toasted Coconut Cupcakes with Coffee Buttercream Frosting. For this recipe, we substituted 1/2 cup cornstarch and 1/2 cup gluten free cookie flour mix and added 1/2 teaspoon extra xantham gum to the batter. It took a little longer to bake these gluten free cupcakes than the instructions noted in the book - so test those cupcakes with a toothpick to make sure they are done.
We did not have “coffee extract” so we made our own using 1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee and a small amount of hot water. The cupcakes were yummy, with an interesting mochi-like texture, for those of you who like mochi - it’s chewy. We can’t wait to try other recipes from the cute little book.
Gf-Zing! has been experimenting with the 123 Gluten Free Pound Cake mix, and we have hit on an excellent set of additions. Make the mix as directed on the package but use grapefruit soda, and add 3/4 cup of dried currants, and 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground cardamom seeds. It is important to use freshly ground cardamom seeds. Use dried, green cardamom pods, crack them open and take out the seeds, discarding the shells. Crush the seeds in a mortar and pestle until you have a powder, and then measure 1 1/2 teaspoons.
We make the cake in an angel food cake pan, with a cookie sheet underneath on the oven shelf below to catch any drips. We dust the greased cake pan with mochiko (sweet rice) or tapioca flour. It takes 1 1/4 hours to bake.
- The additions of currants, cardamom seed and grapefruit soda make an excellent cake. Try it with a cup of darjeeling tea!
It’s been a couple of years since we had a good pound cake, with a fine crumb, a rich buttery taste and a golden exterior. On a whim, we purchased a box (it is a large, heavy, substantial box) of 123 Gluten Free Delightfully Gratifying Bundt Poundcake and took it home. This cake really is easy to make - you add 3 sticks of softened butter and 5 eggs, and then, and here is the fun part, you add 3/4 cup of soda (pop)! The batter is pretty heavy before you add the soda, and then things start looking like batter and it’s off to the oven in the angel food cake pan - the kind with a tube up the middle. We let it cook until it was nice and brown and the bamboo skewer we stuck in the middle came out clean. We greased the pan using the wrappers from the butter and then “floured” the pan with tapioca flour as instructed on the package.
This is a rich, bad-for-you treat is excellent on its own, and even better with a little bitter marmalade spread on a slice for breakfast. We will be trying it out in a few recipes that call for a “purchased pound cake” as well.
Update: We tried this cake again, using a tangerine soda, and added the grated zest of two lemons to the mixture. This made a much more lemony cake, and we liked it even better. Note also that the mix is expensive, but that the resulting cake is very substantial - it will last quite a while, even when sliced thinly. Unlike other gf cakes, this one is just as good, if not better, than what the glutenated world eats.
Next time, we will experiment by adding orange peel and a lot of dried currants to make a tea cake. We are very optimistic about this mix and the potential for some really great desserts.
This is A Gf-Zing! recommended product. Gf-Zing! does not verify the gluten free status of any product.
This review is by Gf-Zing! , which celebrates flavor in the gluten free world.
At first we were skeptical about chocolate chip muffins, but forged ahead after assurance from the teenagers that chocolate chip muffins are a good thing! The Chocolate Chip Muffin Mix from Authentic Foods is easy to mix up and bake - from bag to cooling rack in 30 minutes.
The generous chocolate chunks included in the mix are large and they taste like chocolate - this may seem like a silly thing to say, but sometimes chocolate chips made for the allergy market taste like nothing - not sure why that is, but that is a fact that will be confirmed by world-weary gluten-free consumers. In contrast, the chocolate chunks that the Authentic Foods company uses in their chocolate chip muffins are nice and flavorful.
We made the muffins including the optional 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon mentioned in the directions, and tried the muffins warm, and they were good warm, but we prefer them the next day, with a cup of coffee (we added a half teaspoon of cinnamon to the coffee grounds during the brewing). After drying out over night (left uncovered on the counter where the dog couldn’t get them,) all rice-i-ness disappears, and the muffins acquire a chewy quality that adds an extra dimension of interest, while the plentiful chocolate chunks combine nicely with the hot coffee. After a second day, kept in a Ziploc bag, they still provided an excellent breakfast with hot coffee. Love those big chocolate chips!
A Gf-Zing! recommended product.
Note: Here at Gf-Zing! we do not verify the gluten-free status of any product. We rely on the manufacturers to declare the status of their products. It is up to the reader to check labels, and to verify that the products they consume are safe for them to use.
A Gf-Zing! product review.
We were formerly wheat pasta snobs of the first order, satisfied only with al dente pasta perfectly cooked and served with a truly Italian sauce, so we were dismayed to enter the world of gluten free life, a world of mushy and nasty pasta impersonators, until we encountered the Tinkayada penne.
We had tried the quinoa pasta, the corn pasta etc. and had settled for the Notta Pasta brand, which is similar to a Thai noodle that you might find in pad thai dishes. But, what to do if we wanted to sauce the noodles up with a zesty arrabiata sauce? Here is the answer - try the Tinkyada penne. It will stand up to an Italian sauce!
We have tried all shapes and sizes of Tinkyada pasta, and firmly believe that the penne is superior to the others. You may find it a good idea to cook this pasta slightly less than the package calls for - maybe a minute or too less. Also, you must absolutely rinse the pasta for unknown reasons, but you should follow this instruction - rinse the pasta after cooking, but before you add the sauce, of course!
This pasta is chewy and tasty.
A Gf-Zing! recommended product!
A Gf-Zing! book review.
Fresh vegetables, fish, lamb, chicken, soups, stews and rice dishes - these are the features of a cookbook that has immediate curb-appeal for the gluten free community. We are looking for recipes that don’t use flour, and don’t rely on processed foods. With the exception of a very few recipes (mostly in the bread and borek chapter and the desserts chapter), this cookbook will satisfy your gluten free needs.
The Sultan’s Kitchen, with its beautiful color photos and Turkish aesthetic, even down to the page numbering, is a pleasure to behold and to cook from. All of the recipes we have tried have been delicious, and we mean all!
A few favorites include: Rice Pilaf with Chickpeas, Green Lentils and Caramelized Onions, (we used lentil orzo), Sea Bass Poached with Herbs and Raki in Parchment, (we used ouzo instead of raki), Stewed Lamb Kebab with Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes.
A Gf-Zing! recommended product!
This bread does not try to be fluffy or soft. It is like the traditional Bavarian square, thinly-sliced whole-grain breads that are made from wheat or rye, but it is made from rice, corn, millet etc. It is pleasantly sour, with both the aroma and taste of a sour-dough bread. Once toasted, it is excellent for spreading with Eggplant Caviar, Chicken Salad, Egg Salad, or smoked fish. It is most likely to appeal to adults, because of its sourness.
It is a very superior gluten-free bread product, and one which fills a tremendous void for the gluten free community.
To find out where to obtain this bread in the United States, contact the importer:
R & R Export-Import Specialties
PO Box 7667, Nashua NH 03060
(800) 818-7729
A Gf-Zing! recommended product.
Note: Here at Gf-Zing! we do not verify the gluten-free status of any product. We rely on the manufacturers to declare the status of their products. It is up to the reader to check labels, and to verify that the products they consume are safe for them to use.
Notta Pasta - the fettucine style - it rocks! This pasta is about a centimeter wide when dry, and cooks in 5 minutes. We tried it using a sauce recipe from the Notta Pasta website, the mushroom sauce, and were highly impressed. First of all, the noodles are an excellent length - not so long that they get tangled in the pot. Secondly, they are chewy and stretchy, suitable for al dente cooking. Thirdly, they do not require rinsing as the Tinkyada (another favorite) pasta does. Fourthly (is there a fourthly?), the recipe that we used from their website was mighty tasty and the amount of sauce was correct for the amount of pasta. We did not use the whole teaspoon of salt called for in the recipe, only a half teaspoon, but the recipe was great in all other ways. We used top-of-the-line, flavorful parmesan from Italy, not some cut-rate parmesan without flavor.
This Notta Pasta costs about $3.25 per one-pound box. The recipes on the website are for 8 ounces, which turned out to be enough for three people who are not gluttons (a word play on gluten - sorry!). Anyway, we like this pasta a lot, and will use it again.
A Gf-Zing! recommended product!
Note: Here at Gf-Zing! we do not verify the gluten-free status of any product. We rely on the manufacturers to declare the status of their products. It is up to the reader to check labels, and to verify that the products they consume are safe for them to use.
Mary’s Gone Crackers, which we have purchased from Debra’s Natural Gourmet, in West Concord, Massachusetts, are an excellent addition to the gluten-free world. These crackers are all seeds, and very interesting. They are not dull, and they are extremely crunchy. The black pepper flavor has a pleasingly spicy bite to it - quite peppery!
If you like seeds, you should try these crackers! You will not be wasting your money!
They are good with cheese, and they are also good all by themselves.
A Gf-Zing! recommended product.
Note: Here at Gf-Zing! we do not verify the gluten-free status of any product. We rely on the manufacturers to declare the status of their products. It is up to the reader to check labels, and to verify that the products they consume are safe for them to use.
The Triumph Dining Cards, which are available in 6 languages, have become indispensible to us when we go out to dinner. The translations, in Thai, Mexican Spanish etc. have caused many waiters and maitre-d’s to pay attention to the provision of gluten free food to our table.
Without these cards we used to be greeted with that frosty smile that says “I am clueless about gluten and don’t want to learn, today or any other day. I am turning off my brain now.” We used to hear things like “well, you can’t eat pasta, but would you eat semolina?” Or, “I have a cousin who doesn’t eat gluten…,” and then along comes the salad with croutons on top, followed by an uncomfortable request to return without bread in the salad etc.
Using the Triumph Dining Cards, we can hand the card to the waiter and be assured that someone will understand and try to help us find gluten free food on the menu. For some reason these well-written, professionally designed restaurant cards for the gluten free engage the waitstaff in the problem and inspire them to read labels and to research the recipes.
Tip well, and return happily!
A Gf-Zing! recommended product!
The Luscious Chocolate Cake Mix by Pamela’s comes in an attractive bag, and has a recipe on the side that is just absolutely stunning! The chocolate pound cake recipe, to be found on the side near the bottom of the bag, if made with gluten free chocolate chips added, will satisfy even your pickiest non-GF friends. It is a first-rate cake.
The cake will stay moist for days and will not fall apart or become petrified. This is the best GF chocolate cake mix we’ve tried yet, and that’s after trying quite a few mixes.
Wasting money is always a concern in the GF world, since everything is so darned expensive - how many times have you purchased a GF product and tipped the resulting “cake” or “bread” into the trash receptacle, wondering if the ancient Egyptian tomb builders might have used a similar mixture in building the great pyramids? That’s happened to us a few times, and it is so aggravating when you’ve shelled out a five-spot for the privilege. Well, go ahead and splurge on Pamela’s Chocolate cake mix, and a bag of GF chocolate chips, and then have the chocolate pound cake for breakfast also, in case you didn’t eat enough of it at dinner.
Ok, we’re done raving but did we mention that Pamela’s Luscious Chocolate Cake Mix might become a staple food for us?
A Gf-Zing! recommended product.
Note: Here at Gf-Zing! we do not verify the gluten-free status of any product. We rely on the manufacturers to declare the status of their products. It is up to the reader to check labels, and to verify that the products they consume are safe for them to use.
Jennie-O Macaroons are delicious! They say “gluten-free” right on the can (they come in a can), and they have very few ingredients - a good sign! We buy them in the Whole Foods Market, and at Debra’s Natural Gourmet, in West Concord, Massachusetts.
These macaroons are in a yellow 8-ounce can, with a picture of a gentleman sporting a beard and spectacles on the label. That’s how you’ll find them in the cookie section - the package looks sort of like a small can of coffee, but with macaroons inside. They have apparently been being manufactured since right after World War I, which means they have some history to them and it means they are good or they wouldn’t be in business.
A Gf-Zing! recommended product.
Note: Here at Gf-Zing! we do not verify the gluten-free status of any product. We rely on the manufacturers to declare the status of their products. It is up to the reader to check labels, and to verify that the products they consume are safe for them to use.
Gluten Free by George English Muffins, the cinnamon and currant flavor,
appeared at the freezer section of the Whole Foods market recently,
and we had try them. “Hope” is one of the common threads of the
gluten-free lifestyle - always hoping that the latest gluten-free bread
product will not crumble at the slightest touch like a skeleton in a
vampire movie; always hoping that the croutons we make from the
gluten-free focaccia will not sit there on the cookie sheet in the oven
like little cubes of a dishwashing sponge that will never dry out;
always hoping that the cookie baker will have heeded the words of the
Elizabethan cooks who said “forget not the salt.;” hoping that maybe
this time the manufacturer will not have interpreted “gluten-free” to
mean “flavor-free.”
Well, that was long-winded, but we have to vent sometimes. Now for the good news:
this guy George, of Gluten Free by George, has cooked up a nice little
English muffin. We actually look forward to eating these for breakfast!
And, more good news, if you put them in the toaster, they actually
brown, and they become hot, unlike other, seemingly heat-resistant
gluten-free bread-like substances we have toasted before. Three cheers
for George!
A Gf-Zing! recommended product.
Note: Here at Gf-Zing! we do not verify the gluten-free status of any product. We rely on the manufacturers to declare the status of their products. It is up to the reader to check labels, and to verify that the products they consume are safe for them to use.
More choices, and Better Toast!
The search for good gluten free bread continues! We are looking for a bread with flavor! Somehow, when bread is made without wheat, the resulting bread can be flavorless - no matter how much herb and spice is added. One of our associates calls it “the black hole of flavor” in that an infinite number of flavorings can be added in to a rice-based bread yielding absolutley no improvement in the flavor whatsoever! We are also always looking for gluten free breads with structural integrity and moisture.
Recently, gluten free-bread mix manufacturers have begun branching out from the old rice flour recipes, adding interesting new elements like sorghum and chicory root. The result is that we now have more choices and better toast! The latest entry into the gluten-free Bread arena is a new mix from Pamela’s, which the manufacturer describes as gluten-free.
Pamela’s new Amazing Wheat-Free Bread Mix makes a nicely flavored bread that is perfect for sopping up gravy! This bread has a sort of spongy quality - you can drag it around the plate and it actually absorbs gravy instead of falling apart. Try it with the Beef Stew braised with Chianti and Coffee (filed under Meat Recipes). Interestingly, you can also return to the loaf of bread a day or two after baking it and the loaf is still moist and attractive! You don’t need to relegate this one immediately to the cryogenics department for eternal frozen suspension. You can leave it on the table, wrapped up, and return to it later without worries. This is a miraculous development, for those of us familiar with the old bricks of frozen rice bread that crumble to dust when awoken from their frozen state.
How about toast? Pamela’s requires longer toasting than wheat bread would, yielding a browned piece of toast with a pleasant, homey flavor. The flavor is unique and slightly sweet - something to look forward to at breakfast!
We are looking forward to trying this product again, in particular the intriguing recipes for cinnamon bread and sweet bread that are on the side of the package. Also, especially interested in using it for french toast - it may be perfect for that!
A Gf-Zing! recommended product!
Note: Here at Gf-Zing! we do not verify the gluten-free status of any product. We rely on the manufacturers to declare the status of their products. It is up to the reader to check labels, and to verify that the products they consume are safe for them to use.
Oh my! This organic fruit spread - Fiordifrutta - from www.rigoniusa.com is quite delicious. It has a very concentrated fruity flavor and is not too sweet - Fiordifrutta — just perfect for dressing up a drab gluten-free pound cake. The website claims that the product is made only of fruit, no corn syrup in there for anyone concerned about corn allergies. The lemon flavor product has pieces of lemon in it, spreads nicely, and has just a ton of flavor. Best of all, you don’t have to make it yourself. The strawberry flavor reminds us of homemade jam. There is a slight bitterness to these products which will be attractive to sophisticated adult palates.
This product is available for sale at Debra’s Natural Gourmet in Concord, Massachusetts.
We purchased a store-bought GF pound cake and spread the lemony treat on a slice, then served it with a cup of hot darjeeling tea - on pretty china. We felt like we were sitting down to some kind of nineteenth century tea in a novel. Felt like normal; actually, felt better than normal.
Lemon or Strawberry Fiordifrutta - A Gf Zing! recommended product!
Note: Here at Gf-Zing! we do not verify the gluten-free status of any product. We rely on the manufacturers to declare the status of their products. It is up to the reader to check labels, and to verify that the products they consume are safe for them to use.
The GF community eats a lot of rice, and we’re pretty fussy about how it is cooked! After we got over the initial gluten-free shock of realizing how much rice we would be about to consume, we didn’t mind spending more money on a newer and better rice cooker than the cheap one we had purchased in 1990. That old one was a standard no-frills rice cooker with an aluminum insert. It cooked rice, but the rice was never quite right, and the bottom rice was always a little browned…..but it was fine for us when we could choose to eat rice! Now that we have to eat rice a lot, we have become real rice snobs!
Enter the Zojirushi rice cookers. We figured that if the thing is made by people who eat a lot of rice, it will probably be good.
The Zojirushi fuzzy-logic rice cookers make the GF life-style a breeze! Jasmine rice gets a good soaking and comes out perfect every time. Brown rice comes out cooked just right, not like a bowl of tiny stones. The interesting setting “porridge” seems to be for a type of porridge unfamiliar in the west, perhaps a congee style of porridge.
A few pointers: There are a couple of different measuring devices that come with the Zojirushi rice cookers - one is green, and one is clear. It is important to follow the advice in the cooking manual and use the clear one for standard white rice. Also, when the cooker says it makes “5 cups” that refers to the number of their little measuring cups of dry rice. So if you fill the clear cup 3 times with dry jasmine rice, and fill the water up to the line on the cooking pot that says 3 for white rice, then you will get “3 servings” of cooked rice a the end of about an hour. This is the correct serving size for people who eat lots of rice, but will be more than the right amount for people who typically don’t eat rice as a staple food.
It takes a little longer to make rice in one of these rice cookers - the typical elapsed time before the rice is done for dinner is about an hour for most white rices. Brown rice takes longer. Stove top rice cooking takes less than a half hour for white rice, but that is because there is no soaking cycle. The Zojirushi adds a soaking cycle, which is why the rice is so delicious! We usually put the rice on to cook before starting to make the rest of the dinner, that is unless there is pie for dessert. If there is going to be pie for dessert, we start that first, pop it in the oven, then put on the rice and get going on the vegies and other good things!
It is important not to try to cook rice in coconut milk in one of these rice cookers because a lava flow of coconut milk comes spewing out the steam vent and flows down the sides of the rice cooker onto the counter top. Likewise, it is important not to add raisins and things like that which would clog up the steam vents. Stick to cooking rice, that is the best thing, and put the add-ins in separately.
It is possible to cook quick-cooking gluten free rice mixes in a rice cooker. It takes a little longer than on the stove-top, but the rice comes out nice. We used the “quick cooking” setting.
See more information at this posting: Basmati Rice in the Zojirushi Fuzzy Logic Rice Cooker